A wave of new ideas for Europe



Strasbourg, 3rd day of the European Youth Convention
Strasbourg, third day of work for the 150 participants of the European Youth Convention. Their objective : write a Constitution for Europe. The first version of the final text, unveiled this morning and ammended during the day, innovating for the Union.

It’s all about teamwork.

The Constitution’s reporters have spent the night compiling, organising and writing the proposals expressed on Friday by the assembly, In the morning, the participants took over the premises of the Council of the Greater East Region to start the final rounds. Between global debriefing and working in small teams, they are now discussing concrete proposals. Anthology. a continental republic, universalism of the Union, non-offensive defense.

The Constitution of every european

Helped by the Synthegration © method, the participants gained confidence and gained expertise on the topics covered. And it shows. The debates are more lively, more enlightened and all are oriented with the aim of contributing in the best way to a text that will define the European Union of tomorrow. At the lunch break, the discussed on the work done in the morning. Martin testifies: "With method, we have defined the great principles of a Union that benefits all Europeans. We have weighed each word to represent each citizen and take into account the aspirations of each one of them. Constitutional text obliges, the proposals formulated are general. But they are based on the experiences of everyone and take into account the aspirations of all. Well-being, equality, personal fulfilment are particularly debated topics.

Ideas for moving Europe forward

The goal is common, but the ways of reaching it are diverse. While some points are already consensus, others still need to find a majority among the participants. Not surprisingly, the final text will contain the generalization of Erasmus to all school curricula, well beyond the university. It is also clear that the European Youth Constitution will call for the harmonization of foreign policies on the European level and will involve the creation of a single European army. Social Europe is also at the heart of concerns. But how far should we go? Creating a European minimum wage seems a minimum, but does this require a European pension system? The same goes for the protection of the environment: we agree that it should be promoted, but should it be included in the preamble of the Constitution, to give it even greater importance?

And, of course, the ultimate question: should we, all 27 countries, continue to move forward together, or create a multi-speed Europe? On this point especially, the debates promise to be still lively. But the participants say it with a smile "all together we will get a Constitution that resembles us, the constitution we want".